


Unspoken Eyes (Her Eyes; The Mirror To Her Heart & Soul)

by 9forever_complete



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Henelope friendship, Hosie friendship, You & Hope, hizzie friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-17 01:54:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29217558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/9forever_complete/pseuds/9forever_complete
Summary: “Make art, use your voice, have adventures, and have at least one totally epic love.”Hope made art, she used her voice, she had adventures, and Hope had one totally epic love.
Relationships: Hayley Marshall & Hope Mikaelson, Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman/Lizzie Saltzman, Hope Mikaelson/Klaus Mikaelson, Hope Mikaelson/You, Landon Kirby/Hope Mikaelson, Milton "MG" Greasley/Lizzie Saltzman, Penelope Park/Josie Saltzman
Comments: 3
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1

It was late. Okay, it was only five minutes past 8:30 pm but Hope has been restless all day and needed to wolf out. The workout with Dr. Saltzman, this morning, didn’t even help get the edge off of Hope feeling restless. So, here she is out in the woods, folding her clothes as she takes a deep breath starting to feel her body change into a wolf. It’s been a little of two years since she triggered her werewolf curse. One year since her father told her to let the pain in and swallow her whole it cannot break her. A year since her last Mikaelson family dinner as a family with her father and uncle Elijah. Two years since she last saw her parents and her uncle breathing and alive.

Hope began running the minute she felt herself on four legs besides two. Within the year, Hope has gotten better at shifting that it only takes her seconds to change into and out to. It felt great to feel the dirt on her feet, the fall brisk air in her lungs, to hear nature and other animals from miles, and to just let go. She ran and ran and ran. Hope wasn’t sure how long she’s been running but if she had to guess base on the position of the moon she’d say midnight or even past midnight. Hope stopped moving when she heard a noise in the distance. Hope slowly went closer to the noises. As she got closer she heard grunting, yelling in pain, and she smelt blood. Hope hid in the shadow and saw a girl fighting off six men who look to be twice her size. With Hope’s wolf eyes she can make out the girl to be almost as tall as the Saltzman twins, she looks tone from what Hope can tell, and she is wearing a pair of jeans with a long sleeve shirt.

The girl put her hand out and magically push all six guys away from her. The girl was injured pretty severely. She has a cut on her left arm, one on her right thigh, a knife in her right shoulder, and a gash on the right side of her head by her temple. The gash on her right temple hasn’t stopped bleeding making the girl’s vision limited as her blood kept getting in her right eye. The girl has a dagger in her right hand and she raises her hand to protect herself as the six men charged her as she does the same. She slices one of the six men’s throat as he fell to the ground holding his neck as he bled out. One of the men wrapped his arm around her neck putting her in a chokehold. She pushed herself up to kick two men charging towards her each holding a knife in their hand. The dagger still in her hand, she flipped the dagger in her hand to stab the man, who has her in a chokehold, in the leg. The man screamed in agony as he held onto his leg with the dagger still in his right thigh. The girl turns around and punches him in the face.

In the corner of her eye, she saw a fireball coming at her. She rolled over and away from the fireball as it hit a tree instead. She rolled over and turned around only to get a sidekick in the stomach making her fall to the ground holding her stomach and coughing up blood. She moved her head just in time as one of the men that she kicked earlier brought down a knife to stab her but hit the dirt instead. She put her legs around the guy’s head putting him into a triangle choke. Using whatever remaining strength she had left, she arched her back and heard a crack along with the guy’s scream that came afterward. She rolled away and tried to stand up only to be pushed away by another guy using magic to push her away and into a tree. She coughed up some blood from the impact of her back hitting a tree. Her head was spinning from the impact. 

Hope, who was still watching the whole fight happen, saw the girl slowly stand up and notice something else about her. Her eyes were glowing a golden yellow as she looked up at the men. One was dead on the ground with one of its hands covering his sliced throat, one with the dagger in its right thigh stood up leaning against his left leg, and the one the broken left arm stood up cradling his broken arm with his right arm. Even though she killed one and badly injured two; the girl was still at a disadvantage. Her wounds were slowly healing thanks to her werewolf abilities but she was losing too much blood thanks to the gash on her right temple. If she had to guess the gash must be deep and it must have head one of the major arteries. She shakily stood up but then felt herself being thrown against the tree behind her. Three of the men had their hands out pushing the girl against the tree. The three men pulled their arms back as the girl was pulled away from the tree then in a second she pushed into the tree again. Except with so much force that she went through not one but two trees getting some splinters as she went through the trees. 

She rolled to her left side and coughed up some blood. She brought her right hand to the right side of her stomach to feel a long and pretty decent size splinter. She felt the one end of the splinter in the front and reached behind to feel the other through her back. She heard the crunching of dead leaves coming closer to her. With her good eye, she saw the five men walking towards her with two out of the five limping. 

_“Fuck…”_ The girl thought to herself. 

Four out of the five men started to kick her. She felt their kicks all over her body. She shielded her body as best as she can but a kick to the face and she was turned to lie on her back. 

“Grab her,” The guy with the dagger still in his right thigh says. 

Two guys held her up, one on each side as they held up her arms and forcing her to stand on her feet sluggishly. The one with the dagger in the right thigh pulled out the dagger grunting in the process. He limped over to the girl. With his left hand, he grabbed a fist full of her hair and made her look at him. With the bloody dagger in his right hand, he brought it to her neck. 

“Time for you to die, little girl,” The guy says.

The girl closes her eyes and waits for the dagger to slice her throat but it never came. Instead, she felt her head drop forward and felt a gush of wind pass her. She opened her left eye and saw the dagger on the ground in front of her then heard someone yelling in agony then a loud crunch could be heard as the screaming died with it. She forced herself to raise her head as she saw the guy whose arm she broke disappear right before her eyes. She heard him scream then heard another crunch as the screaming disappeared into thin air. The two men holding her let her go making her fall to the ground with a thud. She yelped in pain as she landed on her right side where the long splinter is still stuck inside of her right side of her stomach. 

Groaning in pain and clutching her right side; the girl forced herself to open her left eye as she saw one of the guys being pulled away from the remaining two into the darkness of the woods. His screams were indeed heard right before it went silent. The two remaining stepped forward each holding a knife in their hands. One whispered a fire spell as a fireball appeared in his hand ready to attack whatever was attacking them. The guy with the fireball fell onto his side as he felt someone or something push him away. He got up to see the other guy on the ground screaming before being dragged into the woods. With the knife still in his hand, he raised his hand to slice whatever was dragging him into the woods by clamping on his leg. Hope moved her head away just in time as the knife slice through thin air. Hope bit into the guy’s arm holding the knife making him drop the knife as he screamed. Hope went towards the throat and bit down hard enough to hear the guy choke in his own blood before Hope bit down again to feel his neck snap. The last guy remaining stood up and turned around in circles trying to find whatever was attacking him and his men. 

“Where are you!?” He yelled into the darkness of the woods. He heard a growl coming from behind him. He turned around to see a white wolf come out of the shadows and he knew right then and there that this was no ordinary wolf. It was a werewolf with its golden yellow eyes glowing staring at him dead in the eye. 

Hope growled at him and charged at him using her werewolf speed. She clamped her jaws onto his left ankle and bit down hard; dragging him to the ground. Grunting in pain, the guy said a spell and push Hope off of his ankle. Hope felt the witch use magic to push her away from him. She rolled over and came back up to her feet and quickly charge after the witch before he had a chance to recover and attack her. The witch brought his left arm up as Hope bit down into his forearm. He screamed in pain but tried to use whatever strength he had to push Hope away from him. Hope kept biting down on his forearm and tried to claw at him. The witch was grabbing whatever he can grab around him. He felt a stick with his right hand and grasped it and swung at Hope’s head making her release his arm and yelping in pain. 

Hope moved away from him from the sudden impact of the wooden stick hitting her in the head. She shook her head and looked at the witch growling at him. Now, she was piss. Hope charged him again. Luckily enough, the witch raised the wooden stick just in time as she clamped her jaws on the stick. Using her strength to push the witch back and trying to break the stick in half so she can kill the guy. The guy reached behind his back and pulled out a knife. Hope wasn’t fast enough to react upon seeing the knife as it stabbed her in the left side of her underbelly just below her ribs. Hope let out a painful howl. The witch pushed Hope off of him as she fell to her side, her bloody side facing him. He crawled towards Hope and brought himself up to his knees pulling out another knife.

“DIE!” He yelled as he raised the knife. Hope looked at him as he did so but her eyes widen in shock when another hand appears from behind him, grabbing his hand with the knife, and driving the knife into this throat.

“You first, asshole,” Hope saw the girl’s head poke behind him as her hand still holding his hand with the knife moved to the left slicing his neck as blood began pouring out of the half-open neck. The girl pushed the guy’s dead body to the side and went to Hope’s side.

She looks Hope in the eye, “I’m going to pull out the knife, okay. So, just bear with me.” She pulls out the knife making Hope howl in pain. The girl whispers a sorry to Hope. The girl uses the knife to cut off some cloth from the bottom of her long sleeve shirt. She bundles the cloth into a ball and presses it against Hope’s wound having no idea that the wound has already been healed thanks to the vampire blood inside Hope. 

“You shouldn’t have gotten involved, little wolf. You got yourself hurt by getting involved,” The girl says to Hope who just replies back with a whine than with a little growl at the end making the girl laugh lightly. But, laughing no matter how light it may be made the girl wince and clench her right side with the splinter still inside of her. 

“I probably shouldn’t laugh with this huge ass splinter still inside of me and a rib or two that I think might be broken,” The girl says. Hope gives her a wolfy grin then starts to stand herself up on all fours. The girl moves her hand away from Hope’s wound and looks at Hope in the eye silently asking her if she is okay to move which Hope answers with a nod. 

“You’re a werewolf for sure but it’s not even a full moon,” The girl says. Hope looks into the girl’s left eye since her right eye is currently closed due to the blood still dripping down from the gash on her right temple. Hope leans forward and pokes the girl’s head gash with the tip of her nose. 

“They shot me up with some wolfsbane. It’s taking longer for my wounds to heal which speaking off,” The girl says looking down at the splinter.

“This is going to fucking hurt,” The girl says as she clamps the end of the splinter that is sticking out of her stomach. Taking a deep breath, the girl pulls out the splinter grunting at the pain. Hope releases a puff of air that she didn’t even realize she was holding the minute the girl pulled the splinter out. The girl brings her hand to the wound and presses down on it to slow down the bleeding. 

“Fuck. If I don’t patch these wounds up soon I’ll die from blood loss. I’m already starting to get tired,” The girl says.

The girl was right. Hope can tell how exhausted she was and the sweat forming on her forehead. The girl stood up shakily, one hand holding her abdomen wound and the other holding her head wound. She couldn’t even get one step in before falling to the ground...well almost. Before, Hope even realized that she was changing back into her human form, she caught the mysterious/injured girl before she can hit the ground. The girl obviously passed out from either blood loss or exhaustion or both. Hope wasn’t sure but all she knew was that she needed to get this girl some help. Hope would feed her some of her blood to heal her faster but after the whole Henry incident, she decided not to. Hope slowly put the girl to her back and began to shift into her wolf, again and ran in the direction of the Salvatore School.

* * *

Fire. The fire burning wildly through the building swallowing it whole. The burnt smell of burning wood filled her nose as did the scorching flame nearly burning her skin. She was hot. She was sweating; the sweat slowly trailing down the side of her face to her chin. The smell of burning flesh filled her senses. Then it changed. Powder… gun powder filled her nostrils. A rifle in her arms. Firing the weapon filling the surrounding air with gun powder. Flashes of bloody bodies lying on the ground unmoved. Warm. She felt something warm in her hands; she looked down. Red… blood then pain…. Unbearable pain shot throughout her body with the smell of blood and gun powder. She looks up. BANG!

Jae woke with a start; jolting upright fast. Her skin feels on fire and patchy from the sweat. Her clothes clinging to her hot skin as she felt her own sweat become one with her clothing. And blood, she smelled blood. Jae felt something or someone touch her making her jump. Stumbling off of the cot and landing on her back on the cold hard concrete ground. Jae heard a voice calling for her but it sounded too muffled… so far away. She moved away till her back was against a cold concrete wall. Her vision was blurry but she can see a shape… a fuzzy shape of a girl? The girl moved closer to Jae, slowly and carefully put her hand on her knee that was raised to her chest. 

“Hey. Hey, it’s okay,” Jae heard her voice, loud and clear as day. Her voice sounds lovely. 

Jae closed her eyes and took a deep breath trying to control her breathing and her erratic heart. The dream was still vivid in her mind but the soft and warm hand on her knee push the dream away bringing her back to the present. Jae can feel her presence, it’s warm. Jae can smell her… lavender vanilla with a hint of cinnamon and the forest. She had a hint of a forest smell to her. Feeling and hearing her heartbeat going back to normal Jae opened her eyes and saw her. Auburn flowy hair that looked to reach her chest, a round face with chubby yet define rosy cheeks, a smooth jawline, a very cute nose, light pink lips, and her eyes… her eyes a blueish gray color, or was it a blueish-green color. Jae couldn’t tell, but she knows one thing for sure those eyes… they are beautiful, and yet they look sad. Her eyes show concern… worry, but take a closer look you can see pain, sadness, suffering. Those eyes as beautiful as they are have seen suffering and loss. Jae wasn’t sure how long she was staring into those eyes until… 

“Hope?” Jae heard a man’s voice call from behind her… behind Hope. Hope stood up putting some distance between her and Jae then turn her body slightly. 

“I’m in here, Dr. Saltzman,” Hope calls as a man walks to the only door in the cell. Jae’s body tensed up upon realizing that she’s inside of a cell. Hope must have sensed her because she turned to face Jae and raised an eyebrow at her. Jae quickly stood up and moved away from her putting her hands in front of her. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. We’re not here to hurt you?” Dr. Saltzman says trying to calm Jae down who looks between him and Hope. 

“I’m in a cell,” Jae replies her voice raspy and dry. 

“This is a werewolf transition space,” Hope replies making Jae look at her. Jae slowly put her arms to her side and slightly relaxed her stance. 

Jae clears her throat, “where am I? How’d I get here?” Jae asks.

“You’re at the Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted. You were found in the woods last night. Hope found you,” Dr. Saltzman says making Jae look at her, “do you remember what happened last night?” 

Jae remembers getting shot with wolfsbane, passing out, waking up in a cell with a group of men, escaping the cell, running from the six men or witches that kidnapped her, fighting for her life, getting magically thrown through two trees, nearly dying, and the wolf… the white wolf. 

“The wolf…” Jae says to herself.

“What was that?” Dr. Saltzman asks. Jae looks at him. He was wearing a pair of jeans with a dark green color long sleeve shirt, he has dark blonde color hair, looks to be gray color eyes, and if Jae had to guess he looked to be 40 years old or in his mid-forties. But, his eyes look like someone who’s seen a lot and knows more than he’s letting on. 

“There was a wolf. A white wolf came to save me last night in the woods when I was getting attacked by a group of six men or witches. Did you see it when you found me,” Jae asked Dr. Saltzman opens his mouth to answer but… 

“She carried you, on her back to the school. She was howling to get our attention. I woke up and found her with you passed out on her back. The white wolf brought you here,” Hope answers looking at Jae then turning to look at Dr. Saltzman who just looks at her. Jae felt like she was lying but didn’t question it.

“Right. Hope woke me up then we brought you down here. We had to get Emma, one of our teachers, to come and patch you up since your wounds were pretty server,” Dr. Saltzman says. 

Jae raises her hand to her head and felt a cloth patched on her head wound but that wasn’t the only thing she noticed. Her right eye was sealed shut because of her blood trying to get into her eye. Jae felt no traces of blood or even dried blood on her face. She then looked down at her abdomen to see it wrapped underneath her blood and torn long sleeve shirt. There was even a bandage wrap around her leg wound. Jae took off the patch on her right temple and felt around her head. The wound was completely healed which means so were the others. Jae felt her ribs, which were broken, her ribs were fully healed. 

“Um, thank you I guess,” Jae says to Hope and Alaric. 

“We should get her cleaned up and in some fresh clothes,” Alaric says but he turns to look at Hope, “but first a word, Hope,” Hope walks out of the cell with Alaric closing the cell door as they walked out. 

Jae just stood there then walked to the cot. She inspected the bandage on her leg and began unwrapping it. Revealing her leg wound to have fully healed. Jae took off her ruined long sleeve shirt and unwrapped the bandage around her abdomen to see it fully heal. She had a little scar from where the splinter impaled her last night but she didn’t care since there were more where that came from. Jae put her shirt back on. Jae sat down on the cot and began to wonder what Hope and this Dr. Saltzman were talking about. Jae had so many questions like where did the white wolf go, who was the white wolf, where was she, is she safe, is she in danger, should she escape and runaway? So many questions but no answers.

* * *

**_Last night_ **

Hope wasn’t sure what she was doing. Okay, that was a lie. She knew what she was doing but she felt weird standing in front of this door. In front of Dr. Saltzman’s door at freakin 3 in the morning. Hope took a deep breath. 

_“It’s just a door all you have to do is knock. Preferably soon before someone sees me looking like an idiot standing in front of Dr. Saltzman’s bedroom door,”_ Hope spoke in her head.

Hope raised her hand and knocked on Dr. Saltzman’s door loud enough to wake him. She heard him groan and the sound of blankets being thrown off. She heard him trip over what she assumes to be over his blanket. Hope rolls her eyes and takes a step or two away from Alaric’s door as he swung it open. 

“Hope?” Alaric questions tying his robe quickly and looking at Hope with squinted eyes. 

“Dr. Saltzman, I need your help,” Hope says getting his full attention as he quickly rubs his eyes to get rid of the sleepiness.

“What’s going on? Are you okay?” Alaric asks. Hope felt her heart clench as her father’s face appeared in her head for a brief second. Hope swallowed her emotions away along with her father’s face in her head. 

“I need you to follow me,” Hope says leaving before Alaric can respond. Hope led Alaric down to the werewolf transition space. 

“Hope, why are you taking me to the werewolf transition spa-” Alaric didn’t get to finish his sentence as he saw a girl lying in one of the cots. She looked to be as tall as his daughter Josie. She was wearing a pair of black skinny jeans, a pair of black combat boots, a black long sleeve shirt but it looked like a fourth of the bottom of her shirt was cut off, she has dark brown color hair, and like most of her body was covered in blood or dirt or both. Alaric ran to Jae’s side and put his hand to her wrist. A sigh of relief escaped his mouth. Alaric turns to face Hope and opens his mouth to lecture her but got interrupted. 

“Before you start lecturing me or ask if I hurt her the answer is no. I was feeling restless and went for a run. I came across her fighting off six men who were witches. She already looked like this by the time I got there,” Hope says. 

“Dr. Saltzman, I need your help patching up her wounds. Before she passed out she said she got shot with wolfsbane. She’s not healing fast enough. I got some bandages on her wounds but I don’t know a thing about first aid or stitching,” Hope says to him going to the other side of Jae looking at Alaric. Alaric looks at Hope then at Jae. He noticed the patch on the right side of her temple was soaked with blood same goes with the one on her stomach and leg. Half of Jae’s face was covered in blood. 

“Stay here. I’m going to get Emma. Just make sure she’s still breathing by the time Emma and I return,” Alaric says leaving her with Jae. Hope, who brought another cloth with her when she brought Jae down here, grabbed the other cloth and pressed it against the head wound after removing the other blood-soaked cloth. Hope felt the blood seeping through the cloth. Hope looked at Jae and notice how pretty she looked… handsome even with her sharp jawline even though half of her face covered in blood.

Alaric returned with Emma. They were both carrying first aid kits and bundles of bandage wraps. Hope told Emma the same thing she told Alaric before he left to receive her. Hope, Alaric, and Emma went to work on patching up Jae’s wounds. Alaric went to patch up the worst wound which was the gash on the right temple. 

“She’s a werewolf. Why isn’t her wounds healing even with some wolfsbane in her system and with the amount of blood that she lost; her wounds should be healing. But, they’re not,” Alaric comments finishing up on the head wound.

“Hope, you said they were witches that attacked her?” Emma asks making Hope nod her head. “My guess is they must have done some kind of spell to either slow her healing abilities or to stop it altogether,”

“We’ll just have to monitor her if the witches cast some kind of spell to suppress her werewolf abilities. These wounds are problematic especially without her werewolf genes helping her,” Alaric says. Emma nods agreeing with Alaric.

“Alaric, I’m going to ask you to step outside. I need to heal the wound on her stomach so if you please…” Emma says making Alaric stand up to leave the room quickly. Emma turns to Hope. “I need you to hold her upright so I can patch the wound on her back from the splinter then I need to wrap her stomach.”

“Before she passed out she said she thought she broke a rib or two,” Hope told Emma. 

“Okay, I’ll take a look,” Emma says.

Hope sits on the side of the cot and reaches over to grab Jae. She slowly raises Jae to sit upright with the help of Emma. Jae’s head landed softly on Hope’s shoulder but she didn’t move. Emma got to work on patching the wound from the splinter. Finished, Emma touched very lightly on Jae’s ribs. Both Emma and Hope heard Jae groan painfully when Emma’s fingers lightly touch Jae’s ribs on her right side. 

“Her ribs are indeed broken. I’ll have to use magic to heal them as much as I can. It’s going to hurt,” Emma told Hope who just nods.

Emma places her hand over Jae’s broken ribs and silently says a spell. Jae groans loudly in pain and in one quick motion, Jae’s arms are wrapped around Hope gripping onto the back of her shirt tightly. Hope tenses upon the sudden movement. Jae groans loudly again and moves her face into Hope’s neck, her painfully heavy breathing hitting Hope’s neck. Hope feels a shiver fall down her spine and her heart skipping a beat. After what felt like an eternity, Emma moved her hands away from Jae’s ribs. Jae’s body relaxed feeling the pain from her ribs disappear. Jae’s grip on Hope’s shirt loosen, her arms falling limp on Hope’s sides, her breathing steady, and her expression in a relaxing state. Unknowns to her, Jae snuggles into Hope’s neck even with the awkward position since Jae is taller than Hope. Hope had to stop her body from reacting to Jae’s actions. Hope, with the help of Emma, slowly laid Jae down onto the cot. Gathering the medical materials both Hope and Emma exited the cell. Alaric approaches them upon seeing them exit and closing the cell door. Hope stares at Jae lying on the cot.

“So, what happened to them? The witches?” Alaric asks standing next to her with Emma standing on the other side of him.

“They’re dead. I had to get involved. They were about to kill her,” Hope says. 

“Hope, what if she’s the dangerous one besides those men?” Alaric asks looking at Hope but she was looking at Jae lying on the cot.

“She looked like she needed help and I just reacted. And…” Hope says.

“And…” Alaric asks. 

“I don’t think she’s a danger to us. You might not believe me, Dr. Saltzman but I have a gut feeling that she’s not a danger to us,” Hope says turning to look at Alaric in the eye. Alaric can see the honesty in Hope’s eyes. Alaric turns to look at Jae.

“That may be but she should find out why she was attacked in the first place,” Alaric says. 

“But, for now. We let her rest and heal,” Emma spoke giving Alaric a stern look implying that they let the injured girl rest and heal before interrogating her.

“Right. Of course,” Alaric says.

Hope returned to her room trying to get some sleep before her class but she couldn’t sleep. Hope kept thinking about Jae and the events that happened in the woods. Hope sighed and turns to lie on her side. She looks up slightly to see the pictures of her family. Hope sighs again and closes her eyes trying to will herself to sleep. The next day, Hope got herself ready for the day after a restless night. Hope went to Alaric’s office to find him sitting behind his desk.

“Any news on our guest in the werewolf transition cell?” Hope asks.

“I don’t know. I haven’t been down there since earlier this morning,” Alaric told Hope.

Hope nods her head, “well, I’m going to go check on her, then.” Hope says. Alaric responds with a nod and an “I’ll be done there soon.” 

Hope heads down to the transition cell. She can hear the sound of someone tossing and turning and erratic breathing. Hope’s eyebrows scrunch in concern and walk to where Jae is sleeping. Hope saw Jae tossing and turning on the cot her eyes still closes. Her breathing is erratic and there’s sweat forming on her forehead. Hope enters the cell and walks towards Jae. Hope puts a hand on Jae’s shoulder trying to wake her but Hope becomes startled when Jae jolts upright away. Jae’s body was tense, Hope can tell and her eyes were still dazed with sleep.

“Hey, you okay?” Hope asks putting her hand on Jae’s shoulder which resulted in Jae jumping away from her and falling off of the cot. 

“Hey. Hey, it’s okay,” Hope says to Jae. Walking towards her and crouching down once Jae’s back hit the concert wall. 

Hope puts a hands-on Jae’s knees and moves her thumb back and worth trying to comfort her. Hope looks over Jae’s face. Her eyes are still dazed with sleep, her breathing still erratic, and Hope can hear her heartbeat racing given how close she is to the girl. Hope can smell her, mint with a hint of a forest smell and rain? Hope wasn’t sure. Hope studies Jae’s face and when she looks up her blue eyes crash with Jae’s hazel eyes. Hope can see Jae’s eyes move, looking at her features then stopping to just stare at her… stare her in the eyes. Hope wasn’t sure what was happening but all she knew was that neither of them looked away.

“Hope?” Hope heard Alaric call her, breaking the trance. Hope blinks and stands up.

“I’m in here, Dr. Saltzman,” Hope replies turning to see Alaric by the door. Hope sense Jae tense up and turns to look at her. Jae is standing up now, her body tense, and her arms raised as if to protect herself from them. Alaric tries to calm Jae down, telling her we aren’t a threat to her and that she’s safe. She and Alaric talk to each other for a moment. 

Hope is listening… barely till she hears Jae say the wolf. Hope’s attention focuses on Jae when she asked if we saw it. Alaric was about to answer… 

“She carried you, on her back to the school. She was howling to get our attention. I woke up and found her with you passed out on her back. The white wolf brought you here,” Hope answers. Hope wasn’t sure why she lied or didn’t just tell Jae that she was the white wolf. Hope looks at Jae then turning to look at Dr. Saltzman who just looks at her. Jae and Alaric exchange some words then she hears her name being called by Alaric. They walk out of the cell together and put some distance between them and Jae.

“Why didn’t you just tell her that it was you who found her last night?” Alaric asks Hope.

“It’s like you said she could be dangerous. I didn’t want to give her a lot of information until we can confirm she’s not a threat to us and the school,” Hope reasons but if she was being honest she wasn’t sure why she just didn’t tell Jae that she was the wolf. Alaric nods to her response.

“Until then, I’m going to be assigning you to confirm if she is a threat to us or not,” Alaric says.

“What?” Hope asks crossing her arms over her chest.

“You, Emma, and I are the only ones who know about her as of right now. We’ll bring her out of the cell and show her around the school but I’d like for you to give her a tour. Keep an eye on her. Find out if she is a threat,” Alaric says.

“And then what?” Hope asks. 

“We will determine if she is safe and worthy of staying at this school. Dorian, Emma, and I will do our own research on her while you do yours and making sure she isn’t a threat to anyone here,” Alaric says. 

“Fine,” Hope didn’t want to do anything on what Alaric was suggesting but she knew better than to argue and if she really thought about it. She is the one who found Jae and brought her here so in a way Jae is her responsibility. 

“I just need to figure out her name and I can do my own research from there,” Alaric says interrupting Hope’s train of thought. 

“I’ll get you a name,” Hope says. 

“Good. Now, here are some spare clothes. Give them to her, give her some food, give her a tour of the school but be alert,” Alaric says in his headmaster’s voice. 

Hope nods and takes the spare clothes. Hope walks towards the cell quietly and saw Jae with her shirt off, her back facing Hope. Hope spun around to face away from Jae. 

_“For a werewolf, she has some scars,”_ Hope says. 

Hope takes a deep breath and walks to the cell. Jae looks up at Hope, who now has her shirt on and is now sitting on the cot.

“Here, some spare clothes,” Hope gives Jae new clothes. Jae takes them and puts them on the cot.

“You wouldn’t by chance have a shower nearby?” Jae asks looking down at the dry blood on her clothes and skin. Hope knew Jae was right but Hope wasn’t sure if she should bring Jae to the public showers that all of the girls use.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!  
> Thank you for taking a shot at reading this story.  
> Sorry for the mistakes.

Hope is currently sitting on her bed. She can hear the shower running from her room. Hope was grateful for having a bathroom in her room. It was getting close to 8 am. The public showers will be packed with other students now. Hope didn’t want to bother with running into other students right off the bat with Jae and she didn’t want to seem weird just standing there waiting for her to finish showering. 

_ “I don’t even know her name?”  _ Hope thought. 

Hope’s train of thought was interrupted when she heard the bathroom door open. Jae comes out of the bathroom ruffling her hair with one of Hope’s towels that she gave her. Jae’s dark brown hair falls just past her shoulder.

“Thanks for the shower and clothes, Hope,” Jae says putting the wet towel over her shoulder. Jae is wearing dark blue jeans with a dark gray long sleeve shirt. 

Hope tilts her head slightly, “I heard Dr. Saltzman call your name,” Jae explains. 

“Right. Um, you’re welcome…” 

“Jae…” 

“Well, you’re welcome, Jae.” 

“It’s um… it’s nice to meet you, Hope,” Jae says. Jae move slightly closer to Hope and extended her hand. Hope looks at Jae’s hand then at Jae. 

“It’s nice to meet you, too. Jae,” Hope says shaking Jae’s hands. 

Hope looks at Jae and found it difficult to read her. Hope looks into Jae’s hazel eyes and found them looking at her intensely as if she too is trying to read Hope. Realizing that she’s still holding Jae’s hand Hope remove her hand and brought her arm back to her side. But, they were both still having a silent staring contest, or was it a staredown. Hope wasn’t sure. As for Jae, she is indeed trying to read Hope. 

_ “She doesn’t seem harmless but she definitely looks strong like she can hold her own. Hmm, she’s trying to read me. Does she think I’m a threat? Is she a threat?”  _ Jae wonders looking at Hope’s facial features.

_ “For someone who looks so strong, she looks hurt… heartbroken. Perhaps, I wasn’t imagining it in the cell earlier. The pain… the loss… suffering,”  _ Jae says to herself. 

“So, where should I put my ruined clothes? And, towel?” Jae asks breaking the silence. Hope looks away from Jae. 

“You can hang your towel on the back of the chair there. As for your clothes. No offense but I don’t think you can wear them again considering the blood, the cuts, and your long sleeve shirt is starting to look more like a crop top,” Hope says. 

Jae chuckles, “so, throw them in the garbage, then. Although, I could always wear them again to scare the locals on Halloween. Get some fake blood. Make it look bloodier than it already does,” Jae says. Hope smiles at Jae’s ridiculous statement to scare the locals.

_ “She has a cute smile. Her eyes crinkle at the corners… cute,”  _

“You’re ridiculous. You’ll get in trouble with Dr. Saltzman if you do that,” Hope told her. 

“Well darn,” Jae says. Jae hangs the towel behind the chair that’s tucked in a desk. Hope gives Jae a bag to put her ruined clothes in a bag.

“Come on, I was told to give you a tour of the school and I’m sure you have a bunch of questions,” Hope says. 

“It looks like I’m not the only one,” Hope looks at Jae raising her eyebrow.

“I know you’re trying to get a read on me to see if I’m a threat, right?” Jae asks.

“Was I that obvious?” Hope asks. 

“Yeah. You might not have said it but your eyes. Unspoken as your eyes are… they say a lot if you look deep enough,” Jae casually says. Hope was stunned. For a year, she has pushed a lot of people away. Keeping her facial expression neutral and unbothered; the same goes for her eyes. But, Jae who is a complete stranger and a mystery to Hope read her so easily. Hope can’t even get a read on Jae within the mere minutes of them talking. 

“You can ask,” Jae simply says.

“What?” 

“You can ask me whatever question you want to ask me. I don’t lie,”

Hope snorts, “everyone lies,” Jae tilts her head and looks at Hope. Hope has her arms crossed over her chest as if she’s trying to close herself off from Jae. She wasn’t looking at Jae but Jae was looking at her. Hope, feeling Jae’s eyes, turns to look at her. Hope hides it well but Jae saw it.

_ “Hurt…”  _

“I promise, I won’t lie. Not to you,” Hope knew in her gut that Jae won’t lie to her. Hope stares into Jae’s hazel eyes. She saw honesty in them but something else… something similar. Hope wasn’t sure why it was so similar till it hit her. That’s how she looks every time she looks at herself in the mirror. The hurt. The pain of losing her parents. Jae’s eyes were speaking to her. Telling Hope that she understands and that she knows because she too has experienced loss.

“Okay,” Hope says. Jae looks into Hope’s eyes and saw that she believes her.

“Okay,” Jae replies back. After throwing away Jae’s dirty clothes, Hope started to give Jae a tour of the school. But, first breakfast. The cafeteria wasn’t full nor was it empty as some stragglers were heading to class and some didn’t have till later throughout the day.

“This school… it’s for people like me, isn’t it? Supernatural people?” Jae asks. Jae is sitting across Hope as they both sat down away from everyone else to talk amongst themselves. Jae had bacon, eggs, hash brown, fruits, and orange juice. Hope just got a small bowl of fruits and tea.

“Yes. It’s a safe place for people like us. Werewolves, vampires, and witches,” Hope said.

“How long have you been here?” Jae asks. 

“Since I was seven,” Hope replies.

“Has others been here for that long?” Jae asks. 

“Everyone is different. Some have been at this school for a year or two. Others have been here for half of their lives or more.” 

“And you find them by…” 

“Dr. Saltzman has this device, a globe, that shows where all other supernatural creatures are located in the world. Dr. Saltzman has friends or people who go out and recruit them. The sooner we can bring them into the school the better it is to protect them from danger.”

“But you don’t recruit everyone you meet or else this school would be packed with all supernatural creatures and it’ll have to be way bigger than it already is.” 

“We look into the history of everyone that we meet or come across.” 

“You mean to see if he or she will be a threat to this school and everyone here… like me?” Jae asks looking into Hope’s eyes. Silently asking if she’s right. Hope nods her head.

“Come on, I’ll give you the rest of the tour,” Hope says. Jae and Hope went to the kitchen to return the dishes to the cooks. Hope brings Jae into the library room. 

“This is the Stefan Salvatore memorial library. It has a lot of books on pretty much everything you can think of. To witches, to vampires, to werewolves, and even mythical ones,” Hope says. Jae was in awed. Jae walked up to a glass-covered case with what looks to be a diary with a picture of a woman next to it.

_ Katherine 1864 _

“That’s one of many diaries written by Stefan Salvatore,” Jae turns to look at Hope, who is to the right of her.

“And the woman, Katherine, is one of the doppelgangers,” Jae says.

“You know about doppelgangers?” Hope asks. 

“I only know based on what I hear. Like the sun and moon curse that was placed on both vampires and werewolves. Vampires to be burned by sunlight. Werewolves cursed on every full moon. To break the curse one must require the moonstone and the doppelganger… a human doppelganger,” Jae says looking at Hope.

_ “Does she know more than she’s letting on,”  _ Hope thought. Jae moved to look at some of the books in the library.

“The Mystical Falls Files by Alaric Saltzman,” Hope is brought back to reality seeing Jae walk towards her with one of Alaric’s books. 

“I’m going to take a wild guess that Alaric Saltzman is Dr. Saltzman,” Jae says opening the book and flipping through the pages.

“Yeah. He wrote some books base on his experience living here in Mystic Falls,” Hope says. 

“Klaus Mikaelson. The Great Evil,” Jae read out loud. Hope felt her body tense up hearing her father’s name.

“I’ve heard stories about him. How he’s one of the original vampires including his family and he became the very first hybrid both wolf and vampire. There were rumors going around that the sun and the moon curse were based on him. And that he broke it… the curse. Just skimming through this it seems some of those rumors are true,” Jae says still looking at the book.

“Some?” Hope asks.

“A lot of stories about Klaus Mikaelson pointed him out to be some evil being. I’m sure some of those stories are true but I don’t judge a person based on stories and rumors,” Jae says. 

“You don’t?” Hope asks surprised.

“You shouldn’t base a book by its cover,” Jae simply says. “I believe that should be implied to people as well. We all have our own stories and a lot of them aren’t as black and white as everyone makes it seem. We all have certain evilness within us. All it takes is just one moment to activate it or multiple depending on the story.”

Jae looks at Hope and finds something different. Something raw with emotion swarming in her eyes. Jae couldn’t pinpoint what but it was gone the minute Hope blinked.

“I heard he had a child. A daughter and that he died protecting her,” Jae says looking into Hope’s eyes.

“Do you believe it?” Hope asks her voice suddenly sounding small.

“I like to believe even the evilest of us all can be redeemed. But, to answer your question, yes. Yes, I believed he died protecting his daughter. To me, that’s good enough in my book,” Jae says.

“Just because he saved his daughter?” 

“Because he chose family and family… family is everything whether by blood or by their bond. Dead or alive. It gives us strength. Family is power,” Jae says.

_ “There it is, again. Why is she looking at me like that? Like I just said something unexpected or something that like healed her...reassured her. Now, she looks sad...”  _ Jae thought.

“Are you okay?” Jae asks taking Hope by surprise by the sudden question of concern towards her.

“Yeah. I’m fine,” Hope says.

“Then why do you look upset?” Jae asks.

Hope looks away, “let’s continue the rest of the tour,” Hope simply says. Hope was hoping Jae would ask her why she was upset or question her sudden change in topic. Jae closes the book at puts it back to where she pulled it out.

“Do you want to walk outside? Get some air?” Jae asks. Hope raises an eyebrow at her. 

“I’m sure you have questions and you pretty much answered the majority of mines. If I’m going to be talking about myself I’d prefer to do it with just us and not with other people walking by us,” Jae says. 

Hope considered Jae’s offer and she understood not wanting to talk about yourself with others listening. Especially, if it’s a sensitive topic… like how her father is to her. “Okay,” Hope says and she receives a smile from Jae on taking her offer.

Hope led Jae out to the backyard of the Salvatore School. There wasn’t anyone out in the yard but Hope took Jae further out. They walked into the woods till they reached the old mill. There were some red cups and alcoholic beverages lied out around the old mill. Hope led Jae up towards the old mill. Jae found a blanket on the railing and grabbed it. She shook the blanket getting rid of the dust and sawdust. Jae laid it down on the wood floor. Jae motioned for Hope to take a seat as she followed suit. 

“So what do you want to know?” Jae asks. 

“You’re full name so I can tell Dr. Saltzman,” Hope says.

“Jae Smith,” Hope summoned a piece of paper and pen to appear next to her. She wrote Jae’s full name on the piece of paper and sent it to Dr. Saltzman.

“Those men? Why were they chasing you and trying to kill you?” Hope asks. 

“They have grudge against my father so they came after me so they kidnapped me. When I came to I realized I was in an abandoned warehouse. So, I killed the guy bodyguarding me and escape. Of course, I didn’t get far before they caught up to me. I fought them and I would have died if it wasn’t for the white wolf,” Jae says.

“So, they kidnapped you because of something your father did?” Hope asks. Jae nods her head.

“Does your father know your missing?” Hope asks.

“He’s dead,” Jae says. Hope stares at Jae looking for any sign of sadness but there was none.

“You don’t sound sad about it?” Hope asks.

“My relationship with my father is complicated. To sum it up I’m adopted,” Jae simply states.

“And you don’t grieve his death because he wasn’t your  _ real  _ father?” Hope asks. 

“It’s not that. I don’t hate my parents nor do I particularly love them either. Like I said it’s complicated,” Jae says looking at Hope. Hope felt like Jae wanted to say more so she remained silent.

“I was found in front of a church as a baby. The priest found me and was about to bring me to the orphanage after checking my vitals at the hospital. My father is friends with the priest and he was there when I was found. Right away, he adopted me. He gave me a name and everything. I had two older brothers. One was four years older and the other a year older. As I got older I began to understand my father. He was a very strict man, and he had a lot of high expectations within his household. He valued power over everything else, and if you weren’t powerful or strong or didn’t reach his expectations, you’d get punished for it. Compared to my brothers, my father would bring me with him everywhere, and he was more strict with me. My mother, on the other hand, was as strict as my father but she’d treat me differently compared to my older brothers and my father. Because I wasn’t her blood she treated me like a misfit… an outcast and said a lot of harsh words. She’d always find ways to tell me that I’m not part of her family and it got worse. When I was nine I lost my brother Ryan, who was ten, to an accident that I caused. My father didn’t even blink or grieved about it. My mother, on the other hand, grieved badly. She turned to alcohol. My father wasn’t a good man. He worked with a lot of bad people and made enemies but he was able to defeat them till one day he couldn’t. Four years ago, my father crossed the wrong guy and he killed my entire family,” Jae says. Hope saw grief in Jae’s eyes.

“It wasn’t all bad being with that family. My brothers were great. They’d include me in practically everything and didn’t treat me like an outcast. I had three younger siblings Anna, Zoey, and Eli. Anna was 14, Zoey was seven, and Eli was five. Eli grew up with some problems since my mother drank while pregnant with him but he pulled through and I loved him anyway. They were my world. But a lot changed the day they were all murdered,” Jae says. There was a minute of silence after Jae told Hope her story about her family.

“No, ‘I’m sorry for your loss’ or whatever everyone else always says,” Jae asks. Hope just shakes her head and gives Jae a sad and understanding small smile. That smile was enough for Jae to know that Hope has been on the receiving end of those ‘I’m sorry for your loss,’ and the pity eyes.

“Any more questions?” Jae asks. 

“What kind of supernatural creature are you? Are you a werewolf or…” Hope asks even though she already knew the answer to the question.

“I’m a witch and a shapeshifter,” Jae says

“Shapeshifter? You mean werewolf?” Hope asks. 

“When I turned into a wolf it wasn’t during a full moon and I didn’t kill anyone either,” Jae says. 

“So then how did you transform into a wolf then? If your not part of the werewolf bloodline?” Hope asks. 

“I was eight when I first transform into a wolf and like I said it wasn’t during a full moon. It was actually in broad day-light. I was with Nana, my grandma, who is a witch. She took me to her cabin where she told me that she was a witch. She even showed me some of her witchcraft. I was fascinated and awed when she first showed me. She told me she can sense that I too have magic so I asked her if my brothers were gifted too. She told me that they haven’t tapped into their magic yet but that wasn’t the only reason she brought me there. Nana has this gift where if she touches you, she’ll get flashes of your life either in the future or in the past. She told me she saw me turning into a wolf but it wasn’t during a full moon or at night. I asked her about it and she told me about werewolves and that my father is one. So, I thought I was one too but it wasn’t till she told me that I was adopted. Even though I was only eight I understand what she was telling me and everything kind of clicked into place. All of my questions I had about my family and the treatment I was received from my mother all made sense. I shifted right then and there. Some kind of traumatizing event can cause one to shift or an extreme event that can cause one’s emotions to be high like grief or pure joy. So, overwhelmed with the knowledge of me being adopted caused me to shift into a wolf. I was lucky enough not to hurt Nana when I shifted and the change was painful. After my first transformation, Nana told me about shapeshifters. The first shapeshifters before the werewolf curse,” Jae says.

“There can’t be such a thing. I mean I’ve never heard about shapeshifters,” Hope says not fully believing Jae.

“Nana has met very few shapeshifters and the ones she’s met have remained hidden and want to stay hidden. The story that Nana told me was about when the first settlers first arrived on these lands. The English people. They came across the Native Americans who lived on these lands but what they didn’t know was that they were shapeshifters. The massacre of Jamestown was led by a shapeshifter. Nana said there were stories of English survivors telling tales of the Native Americans turning into animals. Any kind of animal. Some turned into wolves, into bears, into eagles, and many more. Everyone thought they were just stories… a myth just to make people fear the Native Americans or just some drunken Englishman who made up this tale. But, in reality, it was the truth.” 

“The origin of the shapeshifters goes back to the Ice Age Era. A tribe called the Yagahl lived in the mountains. They had a witch who they called Old Mother prophesied a great warrior who will marry a woman with blue eyes and he will save his people. This great warrior was gifted with the ability to speak with animals. His first was a sabertooth. But he didn’t know the extent of his gift and since Old Mother long pass he had to discover it on his own. Not long before the birth of his child, he shapeshifted into a Sabertooth. He believed he was cursed but when yet another threat came upon his people he transformed into a sabertooth and protected his people. He and his tribe later learned that it wasn’t a curse but a gift. Nana said the spirits of their people found a way to communicate with this great warrior and confirmed that his gift wasn’t a curse.” Jae says finishing the story

“And you believe this? You believe whatever story or tale your grandma told you because you shifted in broad day-light without killing anyone to trigger the curse.” Hope asks.

“I told you I will not lie and I’m not. What I’m telling you is the truth. Whether you believe me or not is up to you.” Jae simply says.

“But shapeshifters can’t be real. If shapeshifters are real where are they? And how come there aren’t a lot of them if they’ve existed since the Ice Age Era.” Hope asks. 

“Nana said there were those who believed the stories about shapeshifters and they went looking for them. Some wanted to discover the myth of these stories, others wanted to use them for power, and others wanted to kill them because of fear. Shapeshifters are either nearly extinct or in hiding.” Jae says. 

“I still find it hard to believe that you’re a shapeshifter. If you shapeshift into a wolf that’d just make you a werewolf.” Hope says.

“Shapeshifters turn into the animal that best represents the person’s personality,” Jae says. “Look I understand if you don’t want to believe me that's fine but what I’m telling you is the truth. Even though I told Nana I wouldn’t tell anyone about me being a shapeshifter.

“Why?”   
  


“Because no one would believe me and Nana said if anyone found out the truth I could be in danger and that I shouldn’t trust anyone with this secret.”

“But you told me.”

“I said I would not lie and I trust you.”

“You would trust me so easily?” Hope asks looking at Jae as if she’s crazy.

“Yes,” Jae simply says.

“You don’t even know me. I could spill your secret and put you in danger. I could be a threat to you,” Hope says.

“Try me,” Jae says looking straight into Hope’s eyes waiting to prove Jae wrong. 

Hope releases a wearily laugh, “like I said you don’t even know me,”

“Trust me, in the few hours you’ve been trying to get information about me, I’ve been doing the same about you,” Jae says. 

“You didn’t even ask me any questions,” Hope says.

“I don’t have to,” Jae says. 

“Okay then, what have you discovered about me in the few hours of us talking,” Hope asks. 

“I know that you’re a lot stronger than you look. I can sense the magic around you so you’re definitely a witch but there’s more to you than meets the eye. I know that you’re a secretive person and that you are protecting yourself from getting hurt because when you told me that everyone lies. I assumed right away that someone close to you lied to you and you got hurt, right?” Jae says. Hope doesn’t say anything.

“I think because of that hurt you put these walls around your heart to keep yourself from getting hurt so you remain guarded. But, you being hurt isn’t because of someone lying to you. When I was about my family and how I lost them I was reading your facial expression. Then when I asked you why you were pitying me you gave me a sad smile. That smile, your facial expression, and your eyes told me that you understood. Which made me come to the conclusion that you lose someone close to you too. Someone or more than one within your family died and judging by the raw emotion swarming in your eyes I’d say it must have been recent,” Jae says.

Hope felt her heart race in her chest. Jae, a complete stranger, basically said her whole life story. Hope felt so exposed and she didn’t like this feeling. Her heart rate was racing and her breathing was faster than usual. Images of her parents came rushing to her head. Her parents, who are dead, are never coming back. She’ll never see them again. Never to see their warm smiles, to receive their warm hugs, and never to receive their love. Hope was having a panic attack and she knew it. 

_ I can’t breathe… I’m having a panic attack _

Hope felt someone cradle her face and was using their thumbs to wipe her cheeks that are now suddenly damped. She turned to see Jae suddenly really close to her and was a couple of inches away from her face wiping her tears.

“Hope, I need you to breathe for me. You’re having a panic attack,” Jae says her voice low and soft. 

“I...I ca-can’t…” Hope says between each breathe struggling to bring her breathing back to normal. She closes her eyes and feels the tears fall down her cheek only for it to be wiped away by Jae.

“Yes, you can. Here, breathe with me, okay?” Jae takes a deep breath in and Hope follows shakily. Jae releases her breath and Hope follows. They go back in forth till Hope’s breathing goes back to normal and her heartbeat is at a normal rate. Hope opens her eyes and see’s Jae’s face very close to her. Normally, Hope wouldn’t like to have someone this close to her and if they were she’d push them away but she didn’t do that with Jae. Jae, whose eyes are warm and soft, is looking into Hope’s eyes and still cradling her face. Hope can feel Jae’s thumb softly crease her damp cheeks.

“I didn’t mean to upset you,” Jae says still her voice low and soft.

“It’s okay,” Hope simply says her voice hoarse.

“Is it?” Jae asks but Hope doesn’t answer. Frankly, Hope doesn’t know if she should be upset at Jae for exposing her like that. It was so sudden and unexpected that it lead to her having a panic attack. The last time she had a panic attack was when her father told her her mother was taken. Hope saw in Jae’s eyes that she never intended to upset her when talking about her. Jae clearly looks sorry for upsetting her and for causing her to have a panic attack.

“It’s okay, really,” Hope truthfully says. Jae can tell she was telling her the truth so she just nods. Jae moves her hands away from Hope’s face and moves away from Hope but is close enough in case Hope has another panic attack. Hope felt something strange in the pit of her stomach when Jae moved away from her but decided to ignore it and push it away.

“Thank you,” Hope says.

“You’re welcome,” Jae says. 

“And, um… I won’t tell Dr. Saltzman about you being a shapeshifter. I don’t one hundred percent know if what your telling me is the truth or if shapeshifters are real but I’ll believe you until you can prove it anyways,” Hope says.

“So you’re giving me the benefit of the doubt?” Jae asks.

“Yes. I’ll just tell Dr. Saltzman and the others that you’re a witch and a werewolf. You can tell them about the shapeshifter part whenever you’re ready to tell them,” Hope says. 

“Thank you, Hope,” Jae says. 

“Don’t thank me yet. It is still undecided if you’re even allowed to stay in this school,” Hope says. 

“There is something I want to ask regarding that,” Jae says. 

“Okay?” Hope questions.

“What if I don’t want to stay at the school. Can I just leave? Or are you guys going to force me to stay?” Jae asks. 

“We won’t force you to stay here if you choose to leave. Do you want to leave?” Hope asks. 

“I haven’t decided yet, either,” Jae says. Hope nods her head. Both Jae and Hope sit there in silence. Not sure what to discuss next or what to say to each other. Till Jae decides to break the silence.

“Hope…” Hope looks at Jae, “grief is stubborn and wild. Sometimes you have to let it run its course till it wears out. You’re going to be okay, Hope.”


End file.
